Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union were due to walk out between November 3-5 as part of the union's ongoing dispute with Southern operator Govia-Thameslink Railway (GTR) over changes to the role of guards and conductors.

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General Secretary Mick Cash said: "This decision has been made after close consideration and following a personal request from the British Legion.

"The union recognises the very special importance of that particular day and as a result has decided to suspend the action planned for November 3. The rest of the scheduled action goes ahead as planned."

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A spokesman for Southern Rail said: "We are pleased that the RMT has called off its strike on London Poppy Day, November 3, but disappointed they are still planning to push ahead with the strike action planned for November 4 and 5 which will inconvenience thousands of commuters and families trying to enjoy Bonfire Night .

"We repeat our call for the RMT to see sense, end this futile action and put our generous offer to a referendum of its members."

Further strikes are planned for November 22-23 and December 6-8.

(Image: Carl Court/Getty Images)

The RMT and GTR have been locked in a bitter dispute throughout 2016 with GTR pushing through its plans to roll out "driver-only operated" (DOO) services across its franchises.

DOO services see responsibility for opening and closing train doors passed from guards and conductors to drivers, monitored by CCTV.

Govia says the arrangement is safe and already operated on a number of its services. The RMT believes the move threatens the "safety-critical role" played by guards and conductors.

Judicial review

The concession comes after a warning to the government a "tragedy" will happen if it does not tackle "appalling" health and safety risks faced by Southern passengers.

Lawyers representing travellers have written to the Department for Transport (DfT) asking if it carried out any risk analysis in advance of the RMT strikes.